Supply warning issued for common antibiotic

A medicine supply warning for the commonly used antibiotic, cefixime, has been issued by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

On 30 March, the DHSC issued a tier 2 – medium impact – medicine supply notification, stating that cefixime (Suprax®) 200mg tablets is in limited supply until mid-October 2026.

Cefixime is used to treat a wide variety of bacterial infections in the body, including bronchitis; uncomplicated gonorrhoea; and infections of the ears, throat, tonsils, and urinary tract. It belongs to the class of medicines known as cephalosporin antibiotics.

The supply notification also states that alternative broad-spectrum antibiotics remain available, and unlicensed supplies may be sourced, though lead times may vary.

The following specialist importers have confirmed they can source unlicensed cefixime 200mg tablets. However, this list is not exhaustive and there may be other companies that can also source supplies.

• Alium Medical
• Genetech Pharmaceuticals

If there is currently no listing on dm+d for the imported product for prescribers to select using their prescribing systems, an EPS prescription for the unlicensed product cannot be issued.

Where a prescriber wishes to prescribe a specially manufactured or imported product, an FP10 paper prescription should be issued as ‘Cefixime 200mg tablets (Special Order)’ and endorsed by the pharmacy as a non-Part VIII special with the following information:

• Amount dispensed over pack size used
• Invoice price per pack size from which the order was supplied less any discount or rebate
• Manufacturers’/importers’ MHRA licence number
• Batch number of the product supplied
• SP

A copy of this medicine supply notification, including supporting information, has been sent to all pharmacy NHS email addresses.